Palangkaraya, the capital city of Central Kalimantan province, is a relatively young city. It was created by President Soekarno to be the capital of Indonesia in the future. This city has a unique culture, including its culinary delights. You can find several unusual dishes from Palangkaraya.
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Even though Indonesia is a rich and diverse country, there is usually some sort of common ingredients for foods. However, in Palangkaraya, they scrap some of those unwritten rules. They have several unique ingredients that are rarely seen, if ever, anywhere else. Here are some of the most unusual dishes from Palangkaraya.
Bangamat
You can classify this as an extreme dish. The reason is simple, the main ingredient of bangamat is a bat. However, not all kinds of bats is good for bangamat. Traditionally, they only use fruit-eating bats for this dish. The main reason for choosing this type of bat is because they are bigger than any other bats. The bats are cleaned thoroughly before being cooked with a lot of spices.
Keripik Kalakai
To oversimplify, keripik kalakai is a cracker with the main ingredient of a type of fern. A fern called kalakai is dressed with spiced batter and then fried. This cracker is crunchy, savory, and overall uniquely delicious. Furthermore, locals believe that kalakai is good for your health. Consuming kalakai will increase your stamina. It is also good for your skin as it has a rejuvenating effect. This is a great snack to enjoy with coffee or tea.
Juhu Umbut Rotan
The main ingredient of this dish is the younger part of rattan, or you can say it is the rattan shoot. Specifically, only the really young and soft are used for this dish. In its natural state, rattan shoot has a thorny outer side. That should be cleaned well before being cooked. The natural flavor of this shoot is savory, fresh, and a little bit bitter. In addition, for most people, this slightly bitter taste is what makes juhu umbut rotan special.
Juhu Singkah Enyuh
After rattan, Palangkaraya dish also uses young coconut tree as the main ingredient. It is literally the inner part of the coconut tree, usually in the younger part of it. Furthermore, it is soft and savory, with a hint of sweet in it. Juhu singkah enyuh is a soupy dish, with savory soup with a lot of spices in it. This is a really soft dish so that everyone can enjoy it.
Central Kalimantan has several wonderfully unique dishes. You can even find several unusual dishes from Palangkaraya that uses uncommon ingredients. They are all delicious, but some of them are not for everyone due to the nature of the ingredients. Next